


Us Against The World

by sentencefragments



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Almost Rape, Criminal Activities, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Friendship, Road Trip, Romance, Summer, Thelma & Louise - Freeform, female badassery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-08 14:02:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1943886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sentencefragments/pseuds/sentencefragments
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thelma and Louise AU - In the summer after High School, Felicity Smoak and Sara Lance decide to take one last trip together before going their separate ways. Things definitely do not go as planned. Most would say things ended up worse, but they might just be for the better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Road Trip

It was two weeks after their High School graduation. Felicity had rolled out of bed to start making breakfast for her mother and herself, humming under her breath as she realized what day it was: road trip day. She and Sara had been planning this trip since before their finals, but Felicity still hadn't asked her mother if she could go. Something was stopping her. What you ask? Well, the fact that her mother was very strict and demanding, for one and second, Felicity was the one in charge of the housework. "We all have to contribute, Felicity." Her mom had sad when she was fourteen and working her first job, a paper route. Felicity hated that job, but kept working it until she found something else (there wasn't much to find for a fourteen year-old in Vegas) because she didn't want to disappoint her mother. It was around 9:30, and Felicity had just put the sandwiches she was making on a plate when the phone rang.

"I got it mom!" Felicity yelled over the sound of the blaring TV, reaching for the phone hanging from the wall in the kitchen. She grabbed it off the hook and put it against her ear.

"Sara?" She leaned against the wall with her hip, crossing her arms as well as she could with the phone in her hand.

"How did you know it was me?" Sara said from the other end of the line, the sounds of the busy diner where she worked in the background.

"I didn't. That's just how I answer calls, duh." She replied, holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she reached for the coffee machine, stretching the cord of the phone. She started pouring two cups of coffee, one for herself and one for her mother. Sara chuckled and pulled away from the phone for a moment to yell something Felicity couldn't make out at one of her co-workers.

"So, are you all packed up? We need to leave early if we want to make it there before sundown."

"No! I still need to ask my mom if I can even go." Felicity whispered.

"What?! You mean you haven't asked her yet? Felicity…It is just a week, for God's sake. Don't be such a baby. Tell her you're going with me! Tell her I'm going through a break-up and I need my girl."

"Sara, that wouldn't carry much weight with her, you have a new boy/girl-friend every two weeks. Besides, she already thinks you're out of your mind." She sighed and put a hand on her face.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded to herself. "You know what, I'm gonna do it, I'll call you right back."

"Don't chicken out, Felicity, because I swear to god"

"I won't. Bye." Felicity hung up before giving Sara a chance to scold her some more. She finished making breakfast for her mother, placing it all on the table with the cup of coffee next to it. She wiped her hands on her jeans and called out.

"Mom!" no response. "Mom! You better hurry up, or you're going to be late!"

Felicity sighed and walked back into the kitchen

"Damnit, Felicity! Don't yell like that! You know I hate it when you yell in the morning."

Putting in her earrings, her mother came stomping into the kitchen, snatching the sandwich from the plate and taking a big bite.

"Sorry, I just didn't want you to be late for work."

Her mother rolled her eyes and took a sip of the coffee. "You just worry about finding a job and keeping this place clean, alright."

Felicity nodded and put her dishes in the sink. She bit her lip before turning around, her mother already standing up and getting ready to leave, fixing her hair in the mirror hanging from the wall.

"Mom?" "What?"

This was her chance. She would ask her if she could join Sara on a road trip to her uncle's beach house for the weekend. She was gonna do it. Except she didn't.

"Have a nice day at work."

Her mother smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Five minutes later, the phone rang at Big Belly Diner.

"So? What time are you picking me up?" Felicity asked, taking a bit from her sandwich, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"No. Way! She actually let you go? Alright! I'll be there around 2:30"

"Okay, well, what kind of stuff do I bring?"

Sara laughed. While Felicity is the smartest person she knows, she could be pretty naïve sometimes.

"A bikini." Sara chuckled. "It's only seven days, it'll be fine. Just bring stuff you absolutely need."

Felicity took a deep breath and sighed "Okay, I will."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

"See you soon!" And with that, Felicity hung up the phone. Smiling to herself, she rushed into her bedroom, yanking her duffle bag from the top shelve in her closet and threw it on her bed. She paused for a moment, before turning to her laptop and putting on her girl-power playlist. Swaying her hips from side to side, singing along (probably off-key for the most of it) to the music, she started picking out clothes to take with her. She threw in some tops, a couple of shorts and her two bikini's. Some underwear, a jacket and a sweater later she zipped up the bag and moved to the bathroom to take a nice long (not that long, because water bills had to be paid) hot (not that hot, their shower didn't really do hot) shower.

Sara was at her door a little later than they had agreed. The blue 1966 Thunderbird convertible, she had inherited from her grandfather, and had fixed up herself, came to a screeching stop in front of Felicity's house. She came running outside with her bag in hand into the hot Nevada afternoon. Sunglasses in place she threw her bag onto the backseat and jumped (very ungracefully) into the passenger's seat. Sara burst into a fit of laughter, hitting the horn on the steering with her head. She jumped at the sudden sound and smiled at her best friend.

"You're such a weirdo." She said. Felicity glared at her, lips pouting. "I love it."

Pulling out her phone, Felicity grinned and patted Sara on her shoulder. She put her sunglasses on and smiled. "Let's take a picture."

Resting her head against Felicity's, Sara smiled at the camera while Felicity pressed the button. Checking the result, Felicity started grinning. "Awh, It's cute. Now, let's go, I wanna get out of here."

Sara laughed and stepped on the gas. The car protested at the sudden acceleration, tires squeaking against the asphalt before racing forward, dust flying up in their wake. Felicity leaned her head back, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin.

"So how come your mom let you go?"

Felicity put her sunglasses in her hair and smiled. "Cause I didn't ask her."

Eyes widening, mouth falling open, Sara stared at her best friend. "Felicity!"

She shrugged in response and put her feet, tucked inside her favorite –very dirty and worn out- white converse on top of the dashboard. "She wouldn't have let me go anyways. I left her a note, and stuff to microwave."

Sara chuckled, impressed with Felicity's sudden spark of courage. She had never done anything like this before and it was kind of a nice change of pace. "She's gonna kill you, you know."

"She can't kill me when I'm in Boston."

"No Way! You got in?!"

"Yup." She popped the p at the end and smiled brightly. "Full scholarship."

"Felicity, that's amazing! Freaking MIT, damn!"

Felicity chuckled "I know. I'm just glad I found a way out of here. With you going on your big world trip, there was absolutely nothing for me there. Except my mom, but we both know it wouldn't be the best idea to stay with her for the rest of my life."

Reaching out, Sara took hold of Felicity's hand, squeezing it lightly. She stepped on the brakes for a stop sign, looking on her left and right, before turning back to her best friend.

"I'm so happy for you. You deserve it."

Smiling softly, Felicity reached out to turn up the radio, tuning up the volume when she found a channel she liked.

"California here we come!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, smiling to herself. Sara grinned at her as she stepped on the gas, leaving dust to settle in their wake. Felicity threw her hands up in the air, letting the wind play with her fingers, twirling them around. They started singing along to the radio, getting into the zone for one of their patented Sing-along parties. Sara turned onto the highway, and really stepped on the gas. It may sound really cheesy, but they drove off, out of Vegas and towards their new lives, chasing the sun to the west.


	2. Out Of Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter contains graphic depictions of violence

"You think we can stop somewhere? Just for a minute?"

"Felicity, we are not going to make it to the house before dark as it is."

"Then what different does it make if we stop? I need to pee. Like, badly. And I'm kind of starving."

Sara didn't answer as she looked over her shoulder to check for any traffic. Stepping on the gas, she sent the car flying forward once again. She looked at her friend, who was pouting, bottom lip pushed forward and those super sad puppy eyes no one could resist.

"Please." Felicity begged.

Sara rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But, it has to be a quick stop. I think there's a roadside restaurant a couple of miles away."

They drove the rest of the way in silence. The sun was setting as the Restaurant/bar came into view. Felicity sat up, pressing her lips together in expectation. Sara pulled into the parking lot, or as it should be called, just a big plot of dirt. The 'restaurant' was everything one could expect from a trucker stop along the road. Loud country music could be heard along with voice from at least a hundred people. Sara parked the car in one of the few empty spots, turning off the engine and looking at Felicity.

"Remember. This is a quick stop. Go pee, I'll get us some food and then we're out of here. We meet back here"

Felicity nodded and opened the car-door on her side. Smoothening her skirt, she looked around to find the bathroom.

"alright, see you in a sec." She said to Sara when she spotted the bright neon sign. Sara smiled and nodded, before turning on her heel and heading towards the restaurant/bar/the place the trucker's loved. Taking a deep breath, Felicity started making her way through the dirt, towards the bathroom. When she finally reached it, she pulled up her nose, the horrible smell already infiltrating her nostrils. She had to wait in line before she could finally use the bathroom. The stall was as dirty as one could possibly imagine, so she made quick work of it, washing her hands very thoroughly afterwards. She checked herself in the stained mirror and got the hell out of there.

Getting back to the car turned out to be harder than imagined. Felicity couldn't quite remember where they had parked, so she was left wandering through the rows of cars, looking for the blue convertible. It wasn't long before a very drunk man approached her, his sentences slurring as he reached out for her. Felicity tried to stay away from him as far as she could, but it wouldn't be enough. He managed to get a hold of her hand and pulled her towards him, stumbling backwards himself in the process.

"Hello, sweetheart, how we doing t'day?"

"Please, let me go."

A panicking Felicity tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let go, backing her against the hood of a car parked nearby. His drooping eyes looking over her body, and Felicity felt disgusted.

"You a fine lady." He said as he stepped closer

"Please don't hurt me." Felicity begged him as he stood towering over her, his hands on either side of her.

"I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart. I just wanna have some fun."

"Please, let me go." She pleaded, but it was clear that wasn't going to work. His hands started roaming over her body, starting at her exposed shoulders. For a second, she thought about how wearing her Bardot top today hadn't been one of her better decisions. But then, a hand reached her mid-riff. She squirmed and pleaded with him to let her go, again. She knew what was going to happen. She knew it and cursed herself for wanting to stop for a bathroom break. She screamed when the man's hand reached her thigh. She tried kicking him, and hitting him, but that only made him angrier. He slapped her across her face and flipped her around, pressing her front against the car. Her head hit the hood of the car with a loud bang, making her dizzy for a second, before reality crashed back in. She could feel the blood dripping from her nose, a strangled sob escaping from her lips as the man twisted her arms behind her. She screamed for help, for Sara, for anyone. Her skirt got pushed up and she tried to somehow get away, but that only resulted in getting her hair pulled. She could feel his hand tugging at her underwear and she screamed even louder, sobbing when nobody seemed to come to her rescue.

"Be quiet, you bitch." The man said as he was unbuckling his belt.

"I really don't like that word." A familiar voice said from behind him. Felicity let out a strangled sob of relief. Her heartbeat was racing, blood rushing through her ears. She probably missed half the conversation and she couldn't see what was happening behind her, but she could feel the man letting go of her. She staggered to the side, getting away from under him, pulling down her skirt. She turned to see Sara, her best friend, who would never hurt anyone, with a gun pressed to the scumbag's neck.

"We were just tryin' to have a little fun, that's all." The man tried to explain. Sara wouldn't have it.

"Looks like you've got a real fucked up idea of fun."

Wiping the tears from her face and trying to steady her erratic breathing, Felicity tugged at Sara's hand.

"Come on."

Sara didn't respond, only handed Felicity the bag of food she had gotten. "Sara, come on. We need to get out of here."

Grabbing Felicity's hand, she stepped backwards, but stopped, the gun still pointed at the man's head.

"Turn around." The man did as she asked, his hands raised above his head.

"Next time, when a woman is crying like that. She's not having any fun, you hear me."

Squeezing Felicity's hand, she turned around and moved to take her to the car.

"Bitch! I should've gone ahead and fucked her."

Sara's face went into thunder mode. She turned around pressing the gun against the guy's forhead.

"What did you say?!" She spit out, almost growling.

The man narrowed his eyes, one corner of his lips tucking upwards.

"I said suck my dick."

In the end, it wasn't the gun that ended the conversation. With one swift kick to the balls, Sara had the man doubled over on the ground, taking him into a headlock, breaking his neck like it was made of glass. As his lifeless body fell into the mud, Sara staggered backwards, reaching out for Felicity. Felicity gasped and stared at her best friend in disbelief before Sara wrapped her arms around her and the tears began to flow again. Sara began to soothe her softly stroking her hair and rubbing her back. Heavy sobs shaking Felicity's entire body.

"Shhh, sshh. You're okay." Sara whispered.

They stood like that for a moment until Sara pulled back, wiping the tears off of Felicity's cheeks and smiling a tiniest of smiles at her.

"Come on. Let's get the hell out of here."

Wrapping her arms around her friend once again, she started guiding her towards the car. They sat in silence for a while before Sara turned the key and started the engine. Felicity took a napkin from the bag and started cleaning her face, wiping the dried blood from her upper lip and cheek, quietly sniffling while Sara drove them through the night, blinking away silent tears, biting her lip to stay focused on the road.


	3. Pull It Together

"Sara?"

No response. Only the sound of the trucks blowing their horns as Sara stepped on the gas and weaved through traffic like there wasn't a car on the road. If she wouldn't have been such an excellent driver, they would both be dead already. Twice probably. Felicity wiped the back of her hand along her cheek, sniffling quietly.

"Sara? Where are we going?"

"I..I don't know."

She pulled over on the side of the highway. Again, they could have been killed. Turning in her seat, for the first time, she let the tears slip from her eyes. Sara pulled Felicity into her arms, hugging her as tightly as she could.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered. Felicity's quiet sobbing stopped abruptly and she pulled herself out of Sara's arms.

"You saved me."

"I should have gone with you so all of this wouldn't have happened."

Felicity's nose had clogged with dried up blood, a long streak of it across her cheek, her face looking dirty and tired, eyes puffy and red from crying and her hair a tangled mess.

"It was not your fault."

"But I shouldn't have killed him."

Felicity tightened her jaw and swallowed hard. She looked down at her hands, biting her lip. Sara sighed and used her scarf to wipe away her own tears. She had learned to defend herself from men like that but she never thought she could actually kill one. For so many reasons, the piece of scum deserved it, but then why did it feel like her soul was suddenly carrying a backpack full of rocks. She centered herself and took another deep breath. She had to be strong. She had to get Felicity through this. She reached out to her friend, wetting the scarf with a bottle of water and carefully cleaning Felicity's cheeks. She seemed to calm down a little as Sara started talking to her in a hushed voice. Everything was going to be fine.

"We're going to stop somewhere for a cup of coffee and we're going to get it together and we'll figure out what to do next, alright? We're going to be okay."

Felicity nodded and closed her eyes for a second. "We're going to be okay." She repeated quietly.

The first stop with a small diner they found was about half an hour away. It was 11:23 PM when they got there, somewhat cleaned up, but still shaking. Felicity closed her fingers around the steaming cup of tasteless coffee, which she had no strength or mind to complain about.

"Okay. Now is not the time to panic. If we panic, we're done for." Sara said, taking a sip of the dark liquid, glancing around the almost deserted diner.

"Shouldn't we go to the police?"

"Nobody saw it, nobody knows it was us. And it's better if it stays that way, you understand?" We just have to figure out what we are going to do next."

Felicity nodded and blew her nose in a napkin. Her breath hitched and she swallowed.

"We're going to need money." She whispered.

Sara pressed her lips together and nodded. "We can stop at the next town and get to a motel so we can rest and tomorrow morning we'll leave for the beach house."

"Okay." Felicity said, running a hand through her hair.

"How much money do you have on you?"

Felicity reached for her purse and pulled out her wallet. She started counting the bills and looked up at Sara, defeat in her eyes. "41 dollars."

"That's enough for one night. I have some too, but keep your eyes open for an atm, just in case."

They were back on the road less than a half hour later. Felicity was staring out of the window on her side, head resting against the glass. It wasn't comfortable, at all, but she just couldn't seem to keep her head up straight anymore. She was tugging at her thumbnail with her teeth. Sara occasionally glanced over at her friend, but decided it was best to let her fall asleep. She tried to drive as smoothly as possible. After a while, Felicity sat up and looked straight at Sara.

"Are you going to tell me where you learned how to do that?"

Sara's eyes narrowed as she glanced at her and back to the road. She sighed softly.

"You really wanna do this now? I will tell you everything once we get to the motel, I promise."

"Fine, but I need you to give me something, anything. So I can eliminate some of the craziest possibilities my brain has come up with." Felicity said, arms crossed over her torso, Goosebumps all over arms and legs.

"That probably won't help, since it's a pretty crazy story." She said, reaching behind her and grabbing her leather jacket off the backseat and handing it to Felicity. She took it gladly and whispered a thank you in Sara's direction.

"Please." She whispered a little while later.

Sara didn't reply for a long moment, gripping the steering wheel tighter and clenching her jaw.

"When I was thirteen, something a lot similar to what almost happened to you tonight happened to me. I was alone, and scared and screaming my lungs out, but there was nobody around. I thought all hope was lost until this girl showed up, not much older than I was, probably around sixteen. She saved me and took me to a safe place. She taught me how to protect myself and the people I care about."

Felicity sat in shock for a second, eyes wide and lips parted. She swallowed and let her gaze drop to her lap. She had never expected something like that. Reaching out, she put her cold fingers around Sara's and squeezed reassuringly. Sara looked up at her through teary eyes and she smiled the tiniest smile she could to make her feel better. Sara returned the smile and wrapped her fingers around Felicity's. No matter how tough the days would be, she knew she could always rely on her incredibly smart and nerdy best friend to cheer her up and be there for her.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Felicity asked.

"For not making me feel like what I am."


	4. What friends are for

Felicity was the first to wake up the next morning. Apart from the extreme headache she was experiencing, she was surprisingly okay. She turned to lie on her back in the crappy bed and closed her eyes against the sunlight and tried to get some more sleep because she still felt tired. The sleep wouldn't come so instead she lay there, replaying the events of the night before in her head. By the sixth time the image of Sara snapping the man's neck wasn't as horrifying as it had been the first time. She started to feel like it had been justified. Maybe this was just her way of coping with what had happened but it worked. When she opened her eyes again, it was like it hadn't even happened. Like they were still just going on their trip to LA.

Turning her head to look at her best friend on the other side of the bed, she was surprised by a pair of blue eyes already staring at her. Sara smiled softly before reaching out a hand. Felicity took it, weaving their fingers together like they always did. Felicity smiled a little.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Sara.

"Not great. How about you?"

"Pretty okay."

"Good."

They were silent for a long while, both staring up at the pale blue ceiling, a crappy fan slowly turning above their heads, casting shadows across the small room.

"Sara?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not some shrinking violet."

"I know."

"Then stop acting like I am."

Felicity sat up quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her lips pressed into a firm line, she looked down at Sara, who had averted her gaze.

"Sara. You don't need to pretend to be strong for my sake."

She reached out and took Sara's hand. "You are allowed to cry, you know."

A soft smile crept onto Sara's lips and she looked up at Felicity. Within seconds, the other blonde had to gasp for air as Sara enveloped her into a tight hug. Felicity smiled and gently rubbed Sara's back. She could feel the wetness of a tear falling onto her bare shoulder. They sat like that for a while until Sara was able to convince Felicity that she felt much better and was okay. It wasn't easy, but she did it. It felt good to cry, she didn't know how much she had been holding back all this time. She hadn't cried since she was fifteen, and it was nice to set all of that pent up frustration free. Her life hadn't been the easiest one. She spent two years in Asia because her mother had been offered a job as a professor there. Their whole family moved with her, she, her dad and her sister Laurel. It was supposed to be a great opportunity for them, but it ended in a nasty divorce. Her father took them back to the US when he got offered a job as a detective in Vegas. She maybe saw her mom once or twice after that. She tried to move on with her life, did her best at school, and met Felicity when she was failing and assigned a tutor. At first she thought Felicity had it all, stellar grades, pretty in a quirky kind of way, but the more she got to know her, she found out that was her only ticket to get the hell out of this town. She had only one goal, going to college. She didn't have a lot of friends, didn't wear the prettiest clothes and definitely didn't have a lot of money to spend. Sara learned that there was a lot of ways a family could fall to pieces when she found out Felicity's father had left when she was five, and her mother never really recovered. Felicity's mother worked two jobs, sometimes even three, which left Felicity to take care of the house, the dishes, the laundry, and getting food on the table at least two times a day.

Felicity was the only friend she had made in Vegas, and Sara was the only friend Felicity felt the need to let into her life, and that was all they needed.

Sara was looking out of the window when Felicity emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping, the water turning the back of her t-shirt a darker shade of grey.

"Your turn." She said smiling.

Sara nodded, grabbed some fresh clothes and stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Felicity dried her hair with the crappy hairdryer the motel provided. She didn't bother with make-up and reached for her cellphone. Typing in the familiar number of her house, she held in a breath. Would her mom have found out she was gone? Would she even have gotten home yet? It was ten in the morning, but it wouldn't surprise her if her Donna Smoak would not have returned to her residence yet. The phone rang five times before going to voicemail. She didn't leave a message, she wouldn't know what to say and her mom would be angry at her anyway. Sighing, she threw the phone on the bed and let herself fall back against the mattress. She closed her eyes and laid there. The only sound came from the cars on the highway less than half a mile away. She didn't noticed Sara coming out of the bathroom, dressed in her favorite guns and roses top until the bed dipped beside her. Her eyes flew open, meeting Sara's gaze immediately.

"Did your mom pick up?"

Felicity shook her head. "She probably isn't even home yet. Hasn't even noticed that I'm not there."

"Did you want her too?"

She was quiet for a long while, her fingers finding the rip in her jeans, playing with the threads hanging from the edges.

"I guess." She paused and frowned a little. "But it only tells me how right I am to get out of there."

Sara placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder and smiled softly.

"I'll be alright." Felicity murmured.

"Let's get back on the road then." Sara said with a smile, her face lighting up and Felicity couldn't help but smile with her.


	5. New Faces

They were packed up and driving again soon after. They engaged in pleasant and easy conversation, neither of them really feeling the need to talk about the heavy stuff. That was until Felicity's curiosity got the better of her and she crossed the invisible line they had silently decided not to cross.

"You're going back to find her, right?"

Sara looked at her in surprise, a slight frown across her eyebrows. Felicity met her gaze and quirked up one of her own eyebrows.

"The girl who saved you. You are going back to Asia to find her."

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Sara turned her gaze back to the road and nodded slowly. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel.

"Her name is Nyssa."

Felicity smiled softly. "That's a beautiful name."

"Yes it is. I want to find her to thank her for everything that she did for me."

"I'm sure she will be happy to see you. But, I'm really gonna miss you."

"Are you crazy? You are going to have such a great time in Boston, you won't even have time to miss me. You are going to meet so many awesome new people that you are going to forget what I even look like."

Felicity's eyes widened and she held up a finger. "I would never!"

"I know, I know, I just like to exaggerate."

Rolling her eyes, Felicity sat back against her seat and laughed. Sara turned up the radio and they fell back into their easy road trip routine. It was a little after noon when they had to stop for gas. Felicity's phone had gone dead so she had started looking for a payphone. Sara had immediately offered to go with her, because of the events the night before, but Felicity said she'd be okay. This time it wasn't dark out, it wasn't a big place to get lost in, and it was pretty deserted. Sara reluctantly let her go and went to fill up the tank. Felicity walked around the back of the little shop, jingling the coins in her hand. She wanted to try to call her mom again but she didn't exactly know why. Absent mindedly she turned the corner and collided with something very solid. She lost her balance and would have fallen if the something, or as it turned out, someone hadn't reached for her arms and steadied her. Her eyes went wide as he pulled her up.

"Wow, you okay?" He asked her, his voice smooth like honey.

"Uhh, yeah, sorry, my bad." She stammered, shaking her head a little.

He was way taller than her, so she had to squint a little as she looked up at him. He smiled politely at her and let go of her arms. She stepped back.

"Nothing to worry about, miss. Did you hurt yourself?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks for not letting me eat dust."

"No problem." His grin widened, showing a little of his teeth. She smiled in response, crossing her arms over chest and rocking back and forth on her heels. Studying him, she noticed that he was extremely attractive. His beige Henley clung to torso in all the right ways, displaying his muscles in a way Felicity had only ever seen in magazines. His skin was tanned and there was something about his stubble that made her want to lick her lips. She met his gaze and blushed. His striking blue eyes seemed to pierce into her soul. She had to swallow hard.

"Well, I should get to making my call." She said awkwardly, pointing towards the telephone box.

"Yeah. Probably." He smiled again, making her go a little weak in the knees. She nodded and stepped around him. She bit her lip when her back was turned to him. Damn that man was handsome, she thought to herself. She couldn't believe that what she did next actually happened. When she reached the phone box, she turned around, one hand on the door handle, she called after him. He had only taken a few steps and was about to turn the corner.

"What's your name?"

He stopped in his tracks, taking a second, grinning to himself before he turned around and beamed at her.

"Oliver."

Felicity's lips curled upward. "Felicity." She said.

"Nice to meet you, Felicity." He replied, nodding his head once, still grinning.

"Likewise." She said before stepping into the phone booth. She watched him shake his head, smiling as he turned around, swinging his duffel bag over his shoulder. Damn, his back was even more impressive. Biting her lip, she started putting the coins into the machine and punched in her mother's phone number. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" A raspy voice spoke after a few seconds of silence.

"Mom?"

"Felicity?! Where the hell are you." Her mom spoke. She could almost feel her anger through the phone. She had put the emphasis on 'hell' and it made Felicity roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Geez, calm down, mom. I'm with Sara, we're going to the beach for a few days."

"Uhm, no you are not. You are getting your ass back here right now."

"No, I'm not."

"Excuse me? You listen to your mother now. You will be back here for dinner or I will…"

"Or you will what? What exactly are you going to do to make my life even more miserable, huh?"

Her mother was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment.

"You do not get talk to me like that, young lady. Did Sara put you up to this? Is this her idea of fun? Getting you into trouble? I told you that girl is poison, Felicity."

Felicity was breathing heavily by now.

"You know what. Screw you. I am going on this trip, I'm going to have a great time and after that I'm not coming back. I got a full ride to college and I'm going. I will not let you hold me back any longer. Try and survive without me because I am done being your maid. Goodbye."

She slammed the phone back in its place and stomped out of the phone booth. Kicking a stray stone out of frustration, she started making her way back to the car. She sighed heavily and ran a hand over her face and through her hair. The words her mother had said to her were playing in the back of her head, stinging like needles into her heart. That girl is poison, she had said, but if there was anything Sara wasn't, it was poison. Sara had helped her come out of her shell, and become a more well-rounded person. She would not let anybody talk about her that way.

Speaking of Sara, when Felicity got back to the car, she was nowhere to be found. Felicity's gaze drifted to the little store and decided to go look for her there. Just before she moved past the mosquito screen, her eyes fell on a couple of ads for different kinds of liquor. She had never been a hard liquor kind of girl, but today, she was willing to make an exception. She made her way inside, making the bell hanging above the door ring. The little store was everything you could expect from a gas station in the middle of nowhere. The cashier nodded at her when she walked past him and she returned the favor. Wandering through the aisles, looking for the alcohol, she found Sara at rack filled with newspapers. She was frowning, which was not a good sign. Without a word, Felicity moved to stand across from her, leaning back against the rack.

"It's all over the news. Manslaughter Mystery." Sara scoffed at the terrible headline and started folding the newspaper, her gaze avoiding Felicity's.

"They say they found some DNA, from the blood on his hands, but since neither one of us are in the system, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Oh god." Felicity put a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes for a second. The consequences of what had happened the night before hadn't really sunken in yet, but she could start to feel the weight of them pulling at her heart.

"Felicity. Calm down, we'll be fine. I promise you, I will not let you get dragged down with me if they even manage to find us."

"You sound awfully confident that they won't."

"That's because I am."

Felicity exhaled heavily. "I'm going to need some liquor."

Sara smiled and chuckled, pulling a strand of hair behind Felicity's ear.

"What'd your mom say?"

Felicity sighed again and looked at Sara, desperation in her eyes. "She started yelling at me. Saying that I had to get my ass back home. I told her she could kiss it instead."

She took hold of Sara's wrist. "Said I wasn't coming back either."

Sara nodded and jerked her head to her right. Felicity's eyes followed the direction and spotted the expensive bottles. What she came here for in the first place. She sighed a little and moved to pick one, taking Sara's hand and lacing their fingers together.

"How about this one?" She asked, pointing at a large green bottle with a reddish label.

"No. Too bitter. I think you should go with this one, much more you."

Felicity rolled her eyes as Sara picked up the pink bottle. "Sara, humor me please and pick me something strong."

Chuckling, Sara nodded and grabbed another bottle, a white one, and the pink bottle too.

"Fine, I'll take the pink one. It's cute."

Felicity laughed and shook her head. "Weirdo."

"You love me anyway." Sara smiled.

"How are we going to get these, anyway? We're not twenty one."

Sara looked around, there was no one to be seen. "We could just steal 'em?"

Felicity frowned and shook her head again. "No. we are not going to risk getting arrested and get our DNA taken, remember?"

"Right. So then what?"

They stood there for a moment until a familiar voice broke their silence.

"You two ladies need some help with that?"

Felicity's head whipped around and was now only separated inches from the lovely specimen that she had met earlier. Oliver.


	6. Almost There

"Why would you want to help us? You don't even know us. We could be alcoholics. Then you would definitely not be helping us." Felicity said, taking a step back to put some distance between her and Oliver. The man was towering over her.

He chuckled "Well, you don't exactly look the part, so I don't think that will be a problem. I just need a tiny little favor in return."

Sara scrunched up her face in mild disgust. She shook her head.

"Yeah, no. I think we'll be just fine, you pervert."

Oliver's eyes went wide. "Oh! No! That's not what I meant! I just need a ride."

Felicity started chuckling. "Nice choice of words, Oliver."

He scoffed and shook his head. Sara frowned and looked from Felicity to Oliver. "Wait, you two know each other?" she said pointing from one to the other.

Felicity pressed her lips together. "Well, not exactly. We just met in the parking lot."

"Huh." Sara said, crossing her arms over her chest. "And now he wants to buy us alcohol."

"In exchange for a ride, yeah." Oliver said, an amused smile gracing his lips.

"Hmm…" She replied, narrowing her eyes. She eyed Felicity who shrugged and mouthed 'free alcohol'

"I think we can make some sort of arrangement."

Oliver beamed at her and grabbed the bottles from the two girls. He eyed them and shook his head.

"But, I'm not buying these. The cashier will never believe I would want to drink this."

Sara groaned and rolled her eyes. Felicity just chuckled. "I think he has a point. Sorry, Sara."

"Fine. Go pick out something manly, we'll be waiting outside."

Oliver chuckled as Sara pulled a giggling Felicity out of the store. The bell hanging above the door rang again as it fell shut behind them. It was hot outside, way hotter than it had been in the somewhat air-conditioned store. The two girls strolled to the car a few yards away. Felicity was smiling as she bumped her shoulder against Sara's.

"He's cute, right?"

Sara scoffed. "Hmm, really? I hadn't noticed."

"Liar."

They laughed as they reached the car, leaning against it side by side. Sara looked around Felicity's shoulder for a second before putting her attention back to her friend. "You know me so well."

Felicity shook her head, looking at her necklace while she was playing with it, twirling the little crystal between her fingers.

"Oh no. I know that look. Don't you dare, Felicity. We are just giving him a ride."

Rolling her eyes, Felicity looked up at her, head cocked to the side.

"Oh come on, I was not thinking about that. He's a good looking guy. Can't I just appreciate that?. I wasn't going to jump his bones and find the nearest flat surface. Not after last night at least."

"That's not…I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I just want you to be careful. You have a tendency to… you know."

"To what?"

"To fall head over heels in love with someone you just met. I'm not gonna stop you, but I don't want you to get your heart broken. I mean, after Barry, just take it slow okay. And please just not this random guy who buys us alcohol."

Felicity groaned. Barry had been her first real boyfriend. Or well, that's what she thought. Three months into the relationship he had dumped her on the night of Prom. Just before they were going to spend the night together, with the confession that he was still in love with his childhood best friend, Iris West. Felicity was devastated, swearing off men all together. One night she was feeling particularly down and had had a few too many drinks. She had kissed Sara, and surprised herself just as much as her friend. She was frowning when she leaned back and shook her head.

"Sorry Sar, Imma stick with the boys." She had slurred.

Sara had chuckled and taken her home. It was a long night for both of them. When they came home and Sara had her tucked in safely, Felicity started crying. It was the first time since the break-up that she had really let it all out. She had been angry a lot, but had never actually cried about it. Sara had wrapped her arms around her best friend and had curled up next to her, in the tiny bed.

Ever since that night, Felicity started feeling better, stronger, and she knew what she wanted. To get out of Vegas and find a better life for herself. And she was so close to getting it. She wasn't going to let some guy, even though he was excruciatingly hot, woo her and ruin it.

"I'm just trying to make the best of it, you know. Have some fun, let my hair down. I mean, that was the whole point of this trip."

Sara nodded and looked at the door of the store again. "I get it. Just don't do anything that you will regret, alright."

Felicity smiled and chuckled. "Yes, mom."

She rested her head on Sara's shoulder. "I mean, he doesn't look like a serial killer."

Sara and Felicity both stiffened. Jerking her head back up, Felicity moved to stand in front of her friend, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide in shock.

"Ohh noo, no, no, no, wrong choice of words. Why do I talk?" She cringed and placed her hands on Sara's shoulders, more of a reassurance that she wasn't going to leave her side than the other way around.

"It's okay." Sara said, gently taking Felicity's hands off her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Sara."

"Hey. It's fine. Now, not a word about it, here he comes."

Felicity looked over her shoulder to see Oliver striding over to them, bag casually thrown over his shoulder, big stupid grin on his face. She smiled as she turned around completely and leaned against the car. Sara placed a hand on her waist and cocked her head to the side.

"What took you so long? We were beginning to think you got scared." She smirked.

Oliver scoffed and shook his head. He held up the brown paper covered bottle and smiled, handing it to Felicity.

"Thank you." She said, gladly taking the bottle and smiling brightly.

"I guess it's too late to call shotgun." He said, looking from Sara to Felicity, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, nope. That won't be happening. You see, I have the shotgun veto around here, so you basically have to suck it and sit in the back." Felicity said, smiling sweetly.

Sara chuckled and rolled her eyes, pushing away from the car and walking around it, shaking her head. Oliver stared at Felicity with his eyebrows raised and the hint of a smile on his lips. Felicity shrugged and opened her car door.

"Come on, hop in." She said, jerking her head to the back seat. Oliver grinned and threw his bag into the car, climbing over the side as Felicity got settled in next to Sara. She shut her door and before Oliver had the chance to buckle himself if, Sara had stepped on the gas, making the dust fly up behind them and they were speeding down the highway. With only two more hours before they would reach the outskirts of Los Angeles, that gave them plenty of time to get to know each other.

"You know." Oliver started after he and Felicity were halfway into the bottle. "I actually wanted to wait with this until we get to the city, but, you know, screw it."

Felicity leaned over the back of her seat to see what he was doing. He reached into his bag and pulled out the two bottles that he hadn't been willing to buy them at the store earlier.

"I don't believe it!" A tipsy Felicity exclaimed.

Sara frowned. "I thought you said the cashier wouldn't believe the bottles were for you if you bought them." Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as a truck honked at her.

"Well, I never said I bought them." Oliver deadpanned.

"No way. You actually are fun!" Felicity giggled, grabbing Oliver's face and pressing a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Sara raised her eyebrow and pulled Felicity back into her seat. Felicity squeaked in surprise. Looking over her shoulder, Sara shrugged at Oliver.

"Sorry about this one, she's a lightweight."

"I am not!" Felicity scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against her seat. Sara just rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder again. Oliver had an amused grin plastered on his face.

"Well, Oliver, normally I wouldn't be okay with this, but as you put it so excellently yourself: screw it." Sara smiled, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

"Oh my, call the news, Sara just smiled! I should steal booze more often."

"Yeah, no. I don't think that's a good idea."

"Don't worry I'm joking."

"Good." Sara nodded and clicked on her turn signal to get past a bus as she sped up.

"So where are you two from? And I'm asking this in a non-creepy kind of way."

Felicity chuckled. "Vegas."

"Glamorous."

Sara shook her head. "Yeah, no. Way less exciting once you actually live there. How about you?"

"Well, I'm originally from Starling City, but for the last few months I've been traveling around the country."

"That sounds so cool. Where are you going now?" Felicity asked, turning around again and leaning her arms on the top of her seat.

"Back to Starling, actually. I have a few things to set right and my family needs me."

"Nothing too serious, I hope?" Sara asked as she turned onto the junction, leading them right into Los Angeles.

"It will all work out once I'm there."

"So you'll have to leave soon?" Felicity said quietly. Even though the alcohol was still making her ears ring, she was sad that they would have to say goodbye so soon.

Oliver nodded and placed his hand over hers, smiling softly.

"Unfortunately, yes. But it has been an absolute pleasure."

He would never be able to describe the feeling he got when Felicity's face lit up and her cheeks turned rosy pink. It was strange the way he felt about her, even if they had only just met that morning.


End file.
